The present invention relates to a pivot head razor having a prong holder that is disposed in a razor head and is adapted to be opened and closed for receiving, holding, and releasing a pivot head razor blade. A spring cam that can be pressed in correspondingly rests against the pivot head razor blade to swivel the same about a neutral position and to eject the same upon release, with the pivot head razor blade being adapted to be locked in its shaving position in the prong holder, via positive engagement of the pivot head razor blade, by means of a locking device that can be actuated by a user, and that is associated with a locking element.
In the following specification and claims, the technical expression "pivot head razor blade" also includes the so-called razor blade units that have one or more razor blades that are fixedly embedded in plastic holders.
A pivot head razor of the aforementioned general type is known from published European Pat. application No. 0 271 185. With this razor, a razor blade holding mechanism is disposed between a bottom part and a separate upper part that are adjoined to form the razor head. This holding mechanism chiefly comprises a prong holder that is adapted to be opened and closed for receiving, holding, and releasing a pivot head razor blade. This razor blade is pivotably mounted in the prong holder between the two free ends thereof, which are directed toward one another, so that when shaving, the razor blade can conform to the shape of the face by swiveling movements while maintaining a favorable shaving angle. To load or eject a pivot head razor blade from the prong holder, an actuating element in the form of a slide is provided on the back side of the razor head; with this slide, the oppositely directed receiving prongs can be pivoted. A new pivot head razor blade could also be received in the open position of the prong holder, in which connection, by releasing the slide, the prongs, which are spring-loaded, return to their closed position, thereby holding the pivot head razor blade in the shaving position in such a way that the blade can be swivelled. In order to be able to hold the pivot head razor blade in its neutral position, from which it can be swivelled in both directions, a spring cam, which can be pressed in, projects from the front end face of the razor head; this spring cam correspondingly rests against the back side of the pivot head razor blade. Since the spring cam is under spring tension, when a used pivot head razor blade is released, the spring cam also acts as an ejection mechanism.
Experience has shown that not every user prefers a pivot head razor blade. In fact, almost the same number of consumers in principle use a fixed razor system. For this reason, the known pivot head razor is additionally provided with a locking mechanism via which the pivot head razor blade can be locked in the prong holder in its shaving position by a looking device that is to be actuated by the user. This locking device operates by having a looking element that positively engages the pivot head razor blade and fixes it in position. This locking element comprises a shift element that is displaceably disposed in the razor head and that, to lock the pivot head razor blade, is extended on both sides of the spring cam in such a way that its tip rests against the back side of the pivot head razor blade and fixes the same in position. A rotary knob that is mounted in the razor head serves for the displacement of the shift element. Via a cam, the rotary knob engages in a cutout in the shift element, with displacement being effected by rotating the shift element to the front or to the rear.
The drawback of this heretofore known pivot head razor is that it comprises a large number of individual parts, which results in a complicated assembly. Furthermore, so that the pivot head razor can function satisfactorily, the individual parts must fit exactly together, with even slight deviations leading to problems and therefore rejection. This is particularly true with regard to the fact that in addition to the spring cam, a separate locking element in the form of a shift element must be provided, which independently of the spring cam must be adapted to be shifted out of the razor head.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve the heretofore known pivot head razor in such a way that it is technically simplified, especially with regard to the locking mechanism for the pivot head razor blade.